The College Football Playoff has officially doubled to 24 teams.
Here are some interesting aspects of the development as it relates to IU football.
THE END OF THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
2026 will be the 16th and final Big Ten Championship Game, the league confirmed this week.
“With the expansion of the College Football Playoff allowing more teams and fan bases access to the postseason, this year’s Big Ten Football Championship Game will be the 16th and final,” the conference announced.
The eyes of Big Ten purists will bleed if the current standings hold up. That would mean the last league title game features a former Pac-12 team (UCLA) and long-time conference doormat Indiana.
INDIANA MUST FIND A POWER 4 NONCONFERENCE OPPONENT FOR NEXT SEASON
The news came last week IU was on the hunt for a Power 4 nonconference game for 2027. The 24-team CFP announcement confirms the requirement.
To qualify for the CFP, a team must play a total of 10 games against Power 4 opponents, the Committee announced in the press release. The Big Ten plays nine league games, meaning the tenth P4 game must come from outside the conference.
Who will the Hoosiers face next fall?
Arizona, Kansas, Ole Miss, TCU and Texas Tech appear to be the most likely options at this point. With their recent run of success, the Hoosiers are obviously not the most attractive option, but the 24-team field helps alleviate those kind of concerns.
IU is in line to play just four home Big Ten games in 2027, so they’d likely want to start any new home-and-home series in Bloomington next year.
EARLIER START TO REGULAR SEASON, MORE BREAKS
Indiana should generally be able to avoid playing nine-straight games without a week off like it did this season. Beginning next year, there will always be two open weeks in the regular season for every team.
The regular season will run from late August to late November. Indiana’s first game in 2027 should be on Saturday, August 28, and game 12 will take place on Saturday, November 27.
The 2027-28 Playoff will begin the first full week of December, providing each qualifying team an open week before the CFP First Round starts. The top eight seeds will have two open weeks before playing their first game.
A PLAYOFF GAME IN BLOOMINGTON? JUST A MATTER OF TIME.
With 16 of the 23 Playoff games to be played on campus, it seems like more a question of when not if a CFP game will be hosted by IU. All of the top-16 teams will host a CFP game going forward.
Indiana has been planning for the occasion, with efforts underway to update the aging Memorial Stadium infrastructure to host games when the weather is extremely cold.
SIDE NOTE: HOOSIERS SHOULD BE HARD TO KEEP OUT OF THIS TOURNAMENT
Did you know: Indiana is the only team in America that has been placed in the bracket by the CFP Committee in every weekly and final rankings update since the playoff expanded to 12 teams in 2024?
Now at 24 teams beginning next year, the Hoosiers appear to be strong contenders to become continue as mainstays in the event.
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
